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The articles were good, the cartoons were right on the edge of good taste. It was a big mistake to put the first cartoon on page 2 when they didn't start discussing the issue until page 8.
It's not wise to start a racial discussion by dropping "nigger" all over the place, then waiting 6 pages for people to get really good and pissed off before you start making your points.
I felt the "Judge Negro" bit was out of line. In the first place, "negro" is not considered an acceptable way to refer to a black person these days. In the second place, it changes the meaning of the cartoon to a stereotype that ALL black people think it's OK for a black person to call another black person a nigger.
The trouble is that the cartoons degrade the rest of the coverage, which was on the whole good.
That does not, however, mean that I think the paper should have been censored or that anyone should have been suspended over it. Rather, it's a learning experience for these young journalists. They should definitely have consulted with some experts before going to press with this - the Society of Professional Journalists has a hotline set aside specifically for student journalists to call and get advice with any project they're working on.
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